Oil and gas

Sasol partnerships point to a new path.

company from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Oxford. The project aims to invest in about 500MW of renewable energy that will supply a 200MW electrolyser for green hydrogen production, resulting in approximately 45 000 tons a year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In 2021, agreements were signed with Toyota and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) relating to green hydrogen and Sasol joined the Hydrogen Council.

International chemicals and energy company Sasol has several large plants in Mpumalanga and it has been the dominant national player in these sectors for decades.

With more than 30 000 employees and a presence in 30 countries, the decisions Sasol make have a big impact on society. A series of partnerships entered into by Sasol illustrate that the company has decided that the energy future has to be different to the present.

Subsidiary company Sasol ecoFT is producing sustainable fuels and chemicals from green hydrogen and sustainable carbon sources via the Power-to-Liquids process and using the FischerTropsch technology (FT) which has helped set the company apart in its field.

In 2010 Sasol flew the world’s first passenger aircraft using fully-synthetic jet fuel and it has been investigating solutions ever since. Sasol is part of a consortium based at its Secunda operations called HyShiFT with Linde, Enertrag and HydRegen, a spinoff

With the IDC, Sasol aims to develop a green hydrogen market in South Africa, develop policy guidelines, support pilot projects and investigate funding options for the nascent sector. One such pilot project is to develop the N3 highway, South Africa’s busiest road, into a green corridor for long-haul trucks powered by hydrogen. Toyota is building the trucks in Japan for use on the route.

In 2022 the Green Fuels Hamburg consortium and Sasol ecoFT agreed to work together and the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with German aircraft manufacturer Deutsche Aircraft to work on technology for sustainable aviation fuel using green hydrogen.

In 2023 Sasol ecoFT and Topsoe signed an MoU to establish a 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) to develop SAFs. The JV will develop, build, own and operate ventures producing SAF based on Sasol’s FT technology and Topsoe’s SAF technologies. The two companies have been technology partners for more than two decades.

Products manufactured at the Sasol complex in Secunda include synthetic fuel, petroleum, paraffin, jet fuel, creosote, bitumen, diesel and lubricants. The primary feedstock for synthetic-fuel production is coal, and the plant is in the heart of Mpumalanga’s coalfields.

Sasol Gas is one of the four operations at Secunda, supplying natural gas to Sasol Synfuels and buying Sasol Synfuels’ methanerich pipeline gas to sell to customers in Mpumalanga and KwaZuluNatal. The octene plant makes octene, a hydrocarbon molecule which is used in agrochemicals, plasticisers and synthetic lubricants.

Sasol announced in 2021 the sale of its 30% stake in the Romco natural gas pipeline that links Mozambique and South Africa. As part of a global sell-off of assets to reduce debt, Sasol expects to earn more than R5-billion from the transaction. The company will continue to be the pipeline’s operator and maintains a 20% stake in the venture.

The Romco pipeline could carry far more gas in the future as there have been big finds of new gas off the coast of Mozambique which could be shipped as liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Maputo and continue from there to the Sasol plant at Secunda. The province is already equipped with energy and fuel infrastructure and expertise.

The Liquefied Natural Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (LNG IPPPP) is part of the broader programme of the National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy which encourages private investment in renewable energy, namely the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The total allocated to gas-topower in the national power plan is 3 726MW, of which 3 000MW is for LNG.

The REIPPPP has seen investment into this totally new sector of more than R200-billion since 2012 and South Africa is now home to 112 independent power projects, whereas just 13 years ago there were fewer than 40 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

HyShiFT: www.hyshift.org

Independent Power Producer Programme: www.ipp-projects.co.za

Petroleum Agency South Africa: www.petroleumagencysa.com

PetroSA: www.petrosa.co.za

Three natural gas exploration permits have been awarded to Tosaco Energy for the sandstonerich area between Amersfoort and Balfour in the western part of the province by Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA). PASA regulates exploration and production activities and acts as the custodian of the national petroleum exploration and production database. Tosaco Holdings has a 25% stake in Total SA. Two methane-gas exploration rights have been granted to Highland Exploration in the Evander area.

The promoters of the Nkomazi Special Economic Zone believe that the fact that the pipeline passes through the SEZ is a big selling point. An alternative would be for the LNG to be shipped to Richards Bay before being piped north.

Many of the big mining and manufacturing concerns in Mpumalanga have long-term contracts for the supply of gas with big gas companies. Afrox and Air Liquide are two of the biggest, with the latter having 3 500 national customers, including Sappi and Sasol.

Air Liquide is to start operating 16 air separation units (ASUs) as a result of an R8-billion purchase from Sasol. The company’s fleet now comprises 17 ASUs in Secunda, with the 16 units having the capacity to produce 42 000 tons per day of oxygen. ■